In many types of businesses, the interface that customers use to obtain and compare product information, and order products is an important concern. Current processes and tools do not support ordering and comparing products at a level of sophistication that is desired by customers. One example of a product line where current systems and methods fall short of achieving desired results is the industrial product field and the power transmission component product line.
Power transmission components are used in many applications. For example, AC and DC motors may be used in industrial manufacturing equipment and processes. Gear couplings may be used to readily transmit mechanical power in applications such as pumps, compressors, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment, fans and blowers, and other rotating machinery. Clutches may be used in the drive trains of printing presses, conveyors, and pumps to prevent damage due to excessive torque generated by overloads and/or jamming.
In other examples of power transmission components, mounted and unmounted bearings may be used in various types of industrial equipment. Belt drives may also be used in various applications.
Previously, customers of power transmission products may have relied upon printed catalogs. The catalogs may include a variety of types of information. For example, the dimensions of a component may be included in the catalog description. In another example, the catalog may include the operating characteristics or tolerances of a power transmission component.
Customers of power transmission products may have also relied on human operators to supply the customer with further information concerning a component. In one example, suppliers of power transmission components may establish a toll-free telephone line that customers may use to obtain further information concerning power transmission components. The human operator may manually communicate information to a customer concerning a power transmission component, for instance, by looking at a catalog and communicating the information to the customer over the telephone. The human operator may also take an order of the customer for a component.
Both of the above-mentioned methods have drawbacks. For example, printed catalogs may be large and cumbersome for the customer to read. In addition, verbal comments from human operators may be unreliable and, in some cases, difficult to obtain during non-business hours.
The Internet has changed business practices around the world making online communications important to strengthening the distribution channels for an organization. This is important to not only a manufacturer, but to the partners of the manufacturer. However, the automated ordering and sophisticated comparison of components is not supported by current systems and processes at a level desired by customers. Accordingly, it is desirable to automate, facilitate, and integrate the ordering and comparison of products and the provisioning of engineered solutions that overcomes the problems associated with prior systems.